InstaLaw workshops are great way to quickly gain insights and legal expertise.

We teach you the most intriguing legal concepts while you take out time from one of your holidays.

WORKSHOP 2: The Startup Founder’s Guide to Law and Not Paying Lawyers

Duration: Part 1 - 10 hours, Part 2 - 6 hours

At the time of starting a company, a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), or even a partnership, there are quite a few legal formalities you need to take care of. These may cover incorporation, compliance, taxation, employment agreements and benefits, import-export, applying for government tenders and the list goes on. Startups need good legal insights and help to protect their interests. Some founders end up paying too much to lawyers, others ignore legal issues and pay the price later.

Let us simplify everything for you. Learn the basics, and never look back when you start your own company. This workshop covers an extensive range of legal formalities you need to take care of, right from starting your business to what to do with a term sheet you receive from an Angel Investor / VC for funding.

Part 1. Getting your business started
Lesson 1: Incorporation of your business
• How to decide whether to start a Partnership, LLP or company?
• What are the strategic differences between them?
• What is the difference in taxation of these entities? What would VCs and foreign investors prefer?
• How can you easily do annual and periodic compliance for your LLP / Company
Lesson 2: Taxation for IT entrepreneursYou do not want to pay heavy penalties to tax authorities that eat into your profits. You do not want your materials and goods to be seized by customs. Learn about basic tax and customs registration procedures to operate your business.
• Corporate tax
• Service tax
• VAT
• Central VAT / Excise Duty
• Customs
• Service Tax
• Minimum Alternate Tax
Part 2: Starting operations & building processes
Lesson 3: Recruiting Employees
There is much more to an employment contract than just specifying salary and work timings for your employees. An entrepreneur who is hiring needs to know about the key terms that need to be negotiated in an employment contract to protect the entrepreneur's commercial interest.
• Non-compete clause
• Exclusivity of employment clause
• Non-solicitation clause
• Confidentiality related clauses
• Attrition management in startups and notice periods
• How to incentivize employees through ESOPs
Lesson 4: Introduction to basic Property Law, Labour Law & Municipal Law compliances
Starting an office and hiring employees is accompanied by its own set of legal compliances. Non-compliance can lead to shutting down of the business or even imprisonment for an entrepreneur. Learn all about such compliances here.
• What clauses to negotiate in a lease or leave and license agreement
• Formalities and registration procedures
• Trade license/ registration of office under Shops and Establishments Act
• Registrations under various Labor laws and compliance
Lesson 5: Speeding up your dispute resolution processes
Disputes are likely to arise in various relationships in the process of doing business. An occasional vengeful supplier or a bad distributor may force you to take legal action. But you no longer need to fight long drawn costly battles in a court.
• How to make dispute settlements quick and affordable through arbitration
• How to recover dues from customers who refuses to pay up through effective legal processes
FREE BONUS Startup Business Law Kit (worth over Rs. 18,000)
(Consists of 7 agreements and toolkits)
• Annual Compliance Kit for private company
• Compliance Kit for LLP
• Specimen LLP Agreement
• Specimen Memorandum of Association (MOA) and Articles of Association (AOA) for incorporation
• Specimen Employment contract
• Sample Lease Agreement for office space
• Non-disclosure agreement (Do-It-Yourself kit)

Do you want to learn some law for fun and profit? Do you want to learn how to stay a step ahead so that you can use the rules of the game to your advantage? Would your organization like to equip an audience with practical knowledge of law that can be used in daily life? Would your students benefit from learning practical aspects of business law in their career? Contact us for a workshop here: Request a workshop